A little update on how Ryan is doing.
Monday morning we had to head back to Winnipeg to see plastics and occupational therapy. It was a long hard day for Ryan. Plastics may have been the worst of it because they had to pull off all the dressing and some of it was stuck on there good. Plastics took a good look at his x-rays and then a good look at his hand. They were happy with the way it was healing. They checked out the skin graph and all looked well. We see them again next Wednesday to have the stitches removed and get new x-rays.
Ryan was already in pain from that experience and then it was on to a 2 1/2 hour appointment with therapy. Our Therapist was exceptional though. She was gentle and kind and worked with Ryan very well. She took off the dressing and gave his whole hand a good cleaning. Then she dressed it again making sure to have a lot of gauze on to absorb any moisture. At this point they are a little afraid as maceration, (prolonged wetness that can cause skin layers to deteriorate and cause open sores) so we want to keep his hand as dry as possible even between the fingers. This was a little bit painful for Ryan as no one had pulled his fingers apart yet to get in between. After he was all wrapped up with new dressing they molded him a splint out of thermal plastic. The main purpose of this is to help keep his finger straight and protect the skin graph. The tendons still need time to heal before he can move his thumb.
Right before we were able to leave the therapist gave Ryan some exercises to do. Because of the 3 hours of touching he had already been through, this was exceptionally hard, but he did it. He has been so strong through all of this. I am so amazed with and proud of him.
The doctors want Ryan's dressing to be changed daily so they got in touch with Brandon to set something up. Unfortunately Brandon's home care service is very busy and there is a 2 week waiting list. Obviously that is not an option so the lady that set it up had to contract it out to a private nursing company in town. They came yesterday to re-dress Ryan's hand. It was the first and last time they will be doing it.
Everything from reading the doctors orders to listening to us was too hard for them to do. The nurses showed up without any sterile gloves, or sterile towels, pads....anything. We had told them twice that we had enough gauze to do at least one dressing, and their orders say to bring all supplies with them, but apparently that is too confusing. Right from the start the head nurse seemed out of her element, she said she would watch as she undressed it to dress it the same way, which she did not do. She refused to read my hand out from OT on how to use one of the products claiming she uses it all the time. She did not listen to me when I told her how our OT wants it done, all she did was complain about how we did not have the right materials to do the job and that she thought we had gloves and everything. Honestly what nurse does house calls for dressing changes without bringing sterile gloves? Really? . Ryan was huffing and puffing, not because they hurt him physically but because their incompetence scared him. I was ready to just 'snap lose it' on them. Once they were done Ryan got up and went to his room. I was left to explain that this was not what we expected and that we were unhappy with how this worked out. They finally left and I went to check on Ryan
This is how he explained it..."of all the things that I thought would take me to my breaking point, I did not expect it to be 2 nurses changing my dressing. They are never touching me again. I would rather have a no-handed monkey do it next time".
So I set out to find what will do for the next day. We decided that we would take Ryan to Day Treatment at the hospital, but couldn't without a doctors referral. So, we went to the home care pharmacy and got all our supplies and decided I would do it today, tomorrow we see his Occupational therapist in Brandon then we will go from there.
Then we hit problem #2: not a single pharmacy in town stocks sterile gloves. They can order them in but do not carry them. I went in to the ER and told them this, " My husband cut off his fingers and part of his thumb last week, he needs daily dressing changes and I am capable of doing them. The problem is that I can find any sterile gloves in all of Brandon so, you need to either supply me with some gloves or I will have to bring him in here and have one of your nurses do it." She went and got me the gloves and gave them to me. :)
Today I was Ryan's nurses and I took down his dressing, cleaned up his wounds and then redressed it. Now, we both agree it is not quite as good as the Occupational Therapist, but 100x better than the private nurses. I can not explain how good it was to be able to do that for him; to see him more at ease, to know that he trusts me enough to take care of him like that. I has been a hard go but the fact that I can be there for him to help him with everything from the paperwork to his medicine and be his nurse makes me feel...almost special.
Props to Ryan's parents who have been helping out with the kids because with the kids home I almost lose my mind a bit. They are both very very demanding children who need A LOT of attention and right now Ryan needs that attention so not having the boys home is a huge help.
Thanks Mom and Dad!
watch for cute picture I will be posting tomorrow. :)
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Ryan's Accident
I know I have not been blogging much lately but there are a few family members and friends out there that do not use facebook so I just wanted to update those people with what is going on.
Last Wednesday afternoon Ryan had a terrible accident at work. He was using the table saw and near the end of his cut the cork tile got stuck, or twisted and kicked his hand back through the table saw cutting off 4 or his fingers and a piece of his thumb.
He has working down in Deloriane that day to was rushed to the Deloraine hospital. At that point they called me to tell me what was happening. He was then rushed by ambulance to the Health Science Centre in Winnipeg. It was not till 5 hours after the accident that Ryan's parents and I finally got to see him.
What we found out when we got the hospital was that it was his right hand and that there was little chance they could reattach the fingers. When plastics arrived they explained to us that because or where the cut was on his fingers reattaching was not really an option. He said that if they did reattach the fingers would be useless and would just kinda hang there and they would be extremely painful. He said that 90% of the time when they reattach fingers like that they have to remove them within the first year anyway. So it was decided to just close off what was left without reattching.
It was a very long night sitting by his bedside. He was in incredible pain for about 6 1/2 hours from the time of the accident until they finally gave him enough drugs that he fell asleep. Both his parents and I sat by him while plastics closed up what was left of his fingers. They fixed the tendons in his thumb and skin graphed it as well, so once he heals up he should have full use of his thumb; it will be weaker but it will work. The entire process took over 3 hours but luckily Ryan slept through most of it.
That night he had a pretty good sleep. The next morning there was a lot of pain. The doctors wanted to switch him over just to t3s but after trying it once he was then pumped full of Fentanyl & morphine. Eventually they decided that they would put him on Percocet (Oxycodone & acetaminophen). Once he could just take that orally he would be allowed to leave the hospital. Thursday was very up and down but Ryan was determined to get out of the hospital. He was so strong and by 6:30pm they released him. I would not let him go back to Brandon that night so we all stayed in a hotel incase anything happened.
Besides experiencing some intense pressure pains in the middle of the night he did great so Friday we brought him home.
So far Ryan has been in incredible high spirit. I am just so shocked and amazed at how he is couping. I think a part of it is that the shock has not really worn off and it has not really hit us but for now we are playing it hour by hour and that is working for us.We have been receiving so many kind words from family and friends and I can see how that is helping him. It is so good to have those email and messages to read when he turns on the computer. So those of you that are sending them please keep it up.
Monday will be a very challenging day. We are back at plastics and occupational therapy. He is going to have his hand unwrapped so they can look at the skin graph. I am worried about this because Ryan has not actually seen his hand since they sewed it all up. In order to close the skin around his fingers they had to cut more length off of the bone so his fingers are actually shorter than when the accident happened. I think that the first time he sees it is going to be hard. Also it is just going to be extremely painful to have everything unwrapped and them touching and moving the fingers. Then he has to have a custom splint made. The reason for the splint is to hold his thumb out and not let it move or he will ruin all their work they did with his tendons, as well as to keep him fingers protected.
Ryan has about a 1/2 inch of length left on his pinky and ring finger, his middle finger is a little bit longer, and his index finger is the longest. They stiched it closed just below the first knuckle. They explained to us that there are things they can do in the future to give him more use. They can cut down the webbing between the thumb and index finger to give him more area to grasp. They can also take one of his toes and attach it to his finger to give him a longer finger and a better pinch.
If you would like to send your love, your positive thoughts, or anything else you can comment here, facebook me if you have it or mail us @
PO BOX 50034
Brandon MB
R7A 7E4
Last Wednesday afternoon Ryan had a terrible accident at work. He was using the table saw and near the end of his cut the cork tile got stuck, or twisted and kicked his hand back through the table saw cutting off 4 or his fingers and a piece of his thumb.
He has working down in Deloriane that day to was rushed to the Deloraine hospital. At that point they called me to tell me what was happening. He was then rushed by ambulance to the Health Science Centre in Winnipeg. It was not till 5 hours after the accident that Ryan's parents and I finally got to see him.
What we found out when we got the hospital was that it was his right hand and that there was little chance they could reattach the fingers. When plastics arrived they explained to us that because or where the cut was on his fingers reattaching was not really an option. He said that if they did reattach the fingers would be useless and would just kinda hang there and they would be extremely painful. He said that 90% of the time when they reattach fingers like that they have to remove them within the first year anyway. So it was decided to just close off what was left without reattching.
It was a very long night sitting by his bedside. He was in incredible pain for about 6 1/2 hours from the time of the accident until they finally gave him enough drugs that he fell asleep. Both his parents and I sat by him while plastics closed up what was left of his fingers. They fixed the tendons in his thumb and skin graphed it as well, so once he heals up he should have full use of his thumb; it will be weaker but it will work. The entire process took over 3 hours but luckily Ryan slept through most of it.
That night he had a pretty good sleep. The next morning there was a lot of pain. The doctors wanted to switch him over just to t3s but after trying it once he was then pumped full of Fentanyl & morphine. Eventually they decided that they would put him on Percocet (Oxycodone & acetaminophen). Once he could just take that orally he would be allowed to leave the hospital. Thursday was very up and down but Ryan was determined to get out of the hospital. He was so strong and by 6:30pm they released him. I would not let him go back to Brandon that night so we all stayed in a hotel incase anything happened.
Besides experiencing some intense pressure pains in the middle of the night he did great so Friday we brought him home.
So far Ryan has been in incredible high spirit. I am just so shocked and amazed at how he is couping. I think a part of it is that the shock has not really worn off and it has not really hit us but for now we are playing it hour by hour and that is working for us.We have been receiving so many kind words from family and friends and I can see how that is helping him. It is so good to have those email and messages to read when he turns on the computer. So those of you that are sending them please keep it up.
Monday will be a very challenging day. We are back at plastics and occupational therapy. He is going to have his hand unwrapped so they can look at the skin graph. I am worried about this because Ryan has not actually seen his hand since they sewed it all up. In order to close the skin around his fingers they had to cut more length off of the bone so his fingers are actually shorter than when the accident happened. I think that the first time he sees it is going to be hard. Also it is just going to be extremely painful to have everything unwrapped and them touching and moving the fingers. Then he has to have a custom splint made. The reason for the splint is to hold his thumb out and not let it move or he will ruin all their work they did with his tendons, as well as to keep him fingers protected.
Ryan has about a 1/2 inch of length left on his pinky and ring finger, his middle finger is a little bit longer, and his index finger is the longest. They stiched it closed just below the first knuckle. They explained to us that there are things they can do in the future to give him more use. They can cut down the webbing between the thumb and index finger to give him more area to grasp. They can also take one of his toes and attach it to his finger to give him a longer finger and a better pinch.
If you would like to send your love, your positive thoughts, or anything else you can comment here, facebook me if you have it or mail us @
PO BOX 50034
Brandon MB
R7A 7E4
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
What's Up
Life sure has been crazy lately. We had a flood at Dufresne Furniture. We survived the rising river but got caught by a water main break. I showed up for work 2 weeks and could hear water running into our store and everyone was running around trying to move furniture out of the way. I have been working crazy hours along with everyone else. First it was because we had to manually take inventory of everything that was in water damaged areas. Now we are all working long busy hours while we have a massive liquidation sale. Everything has been 25% to 60% off and that has brought us a lot of business.
We have managed to squeeze in some family time here and there. Last weekend we picked up Everett's wagon and went for a walk. Everett LOVES his wagon. He just hangs out and just smiles. Rawley pulled him half of the way then climbed in with him and rode the rest of the way home. While I pulled.
Last weekend I set up a booth at the mall in town and worked with some other consultants to raise money for the MARY KAY ASH CHARITABLE FOUNDATION. We also had a draw going on to get some new names for each of us. It was a long weekend as I set up in the morning than went and worked at Dufrense then came back to the mall and worked our booth. It has been a long time since I have had 2 jobs and I am feeling old and tired. lol. The booth at the mall was a huge success though so I do not regret it for one minute.
Every Tuesday night I go to my Mary Kay meeting here in town. We talk about our week past, set goals for the new week, pamper guests and learn skill to help us along in our business. It is always so motivating and inspirational. I absolutely love going. It is also a chance for me to spend time with a group of really wonderful ladies. This week we were graced with a national sales director from Ontario and our VP, Lynda Rose, from the Dallas Head Office. They were both amazing speakers and it was such aa wonderful evening.
Lynda Rose brought out a whole lot of expensive jewelry for us to see. She was showing us all the jewelry that we could possibly earn within the company. As long as we were returning in the morning to attend her workshop we were allowed to take a piece of jewelry of our choice home. So, I picked out the the Queen of Sales ring. It is worth $10,000. It sure felt great to wear that on my hand.
Anyway, that is a bit of what we have been up to. The weather is odd here. One day is 24 degrees then the next day is thunder, lightening, hail, down pours and only 6 degrees. We have crazy mosquito's already and Ryan has had his first tick *shutter*. The Assiniboine River went down about 5 or 6 feet but is back up abut 4 feet. So we are going to have a lot of water hanging around for a long time. YUCK!
We have managed to squeeze in some family time here and there. Last weekend we picked up Everett's wagon and went for a walk. Everett LOVES his wagon. He just hangs out and just smiles. Rawley pulled him half of the way then climbed in with him and rode the rest of the way home. While I pulled.
Last weekend I set up a booth at the mall in town and worked with some other consultants to raise money for the MARY KAY ASH CHARITABLE FOUNDATION. We also had a draw going on to get some new names for each of us. It was a long weekend as I set up in the morning than went and worked at Dufrense then came back to the mall and worked our booth. It has been a long time since I have had 2 jobs and I am feeling old and tired. lol. The booth at the mall was a huge success though so I do not regret it for one minute.
Every Tuesday night I go to my Mary Kay meeting here in town. We talk about our week past, set goals for the new week, pamper guests and learn skill to help us along in our business. It is always so motivating and inspirational. I absolutely love going. It is also a chance for me to spend time with a group of really wonderful ladies. This week we were graced with a national sales director from Ontario and our VP, Lynda Rose, from the Dallas Head Office. They were both amazing speakers and it was such aa wonderful evening.This is Lynda Rose and me.
Lynda Rose brought out a whole lot of expensive jewelry for us to see. She was showing us all the jewelry that we could possibly earn within the company. As long as we were returning in the morning to attend her workshop we were allowed to take a piece of jewelry of our choice home. So, I picked out the the Queen of Sales ring. It is worth $10,000. It sure felt great to wear that on my hand.
Anyway, that is a bit of what we have been up to. The weather is odd here. One day is 24 degrees then the next day is thunder, lightening, hail, down pours and only 6 degrees. We have crazy mosquito's already and Ryan has had his first tick *shutter*. The Assiniboine River went down about 5 or 6 feet but is back up abut 4 feet. So we are going to have a lot of water hanging around for a long time. YUCK!
Good Night!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Happy Birthday to Everett
I made a really great video of Everett through his first year but blogger will not let me post. :( So you will just get a few great pics of his party.
Rawley helping him open his gifts
Rawley helping him ride his new toy
Everett's first birthday cake, same cake I made for Rawley's first birthday.
Everett trying out the cake.
Everett did not eat much of the cake but he was cute anyway
What is a party without beer, right?
Uncle Al played with him when it was getting late and he was getting tired.
We got in the car to drive home and Everett was asleep in about 2 minutes. This is so unusual for Everett. He usually screams for a while in the car before giving in and falling asleep. I guess that is a sign that he had fun.
Everett being just cute at 11 months old.
Everett's awesome Puma shoes that I bought on eBrandon for $10
Rawley helping him open his gifts
Rawley helping him ride his new toy
Everett's first birthday cake, same cake I made for Rawley's first birthday.
Everett trying out the cake.
Everett did not eat much of the cake but he was cute anyway
What is a party without beer, right?
Uncle Al played with him when it was getting late and he was getting tired.
We got in the car to drive home and Everett was asleep in about 2 minutes. This is so unusual for Everett. He usually screams for a while in the car before giving in and falling asleep. I guess that is a sign that he had fun.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
Flooding
Things are getting pretty scary around here. We have 2 main entrances to town; 1st and 18th street. 1st street is closed completely and 18 they have asked everyone to stay away from 18th unless they need to cross the river there. To get to work today I had to drive 10 minutes west out of town to Kemnay to drive back the 10 minutes on Highway 1. That however is close to closing as well because where the river goes under highway one they are facing some challenges.
Rawley's soccer has been cancelled until further notice.
Last night we went for a walk down to the hydro plant and the water is only a foot or two away. They were out all night and day today building dams around it. If water gets in there all of Brandon will lose power I am told.
Then there is the water that they are pumping out of the basement of the water treatment centre. If it flood too much there is seems we may not have drinking water either.
It seems to have gotten way out of hand very very quickly.
I do not have any of my own pictures today but here are some pictures from
www.ebrandon.ca
Last time I was near here the water was about 5 feet lower. I can't believe that the water is near the top of that lamp post.
http://www.ebrandon.ca/photo.aspx?picture_id=20177
If the water breaks through the 3 high super sand bags on the other side of the road it will flood out everythign in the Corral centre. Montana's seems to be taking action of their own.
http://www.ebrandon.ca/photo.aspx?picture_id=20217
We are expected to get another 1.8 feet of water coming to us from Sask. So they are going to be building up this dyke again.
http://www.ebrandon.ca/photo.aspx?picture_id=20168
They have since added another row of super sand bags. If these bags break many stores and restaurants will be flooded out.
http://www.ebrandon.ca/photo.aspx?picture_id=20147
The south side of the river was evacuated today and the north side will be evacuated tomorrow. This is a precaution in case of an earth or sandbag dyke break.
Rawley's soccer has been cancelled until further notice.
Last night we went for a walk down to the hydro plant and the water is only a foot or two away. They were out all night and day today building dams around it. If water gets in there all of Brandon will lose power I am told.
Then there is the water that they are pumping out of the basement of the water treatment centre. If it flood too much there is seems we may not have drinking water either.
It seems to have gotten way out of hand very very quickly.
I do not have any of my own pictures today but here are some pictures from
www.ebrandon.ca
Last time I was near here the water was about 5 feet lower. I can't believe that the water is near the top of that lamp post.
http://www.ebrandon.ca/photo.aspx?picture_id=20177
If the water breaks through the 3 high super sand bags on the other side of the road it will flood out everythign in the Corral centre. Montana's seems to be taking action of their own.
http://www.ebrandon.ca/photo.aspx?picture_id=20217
We are expected to get another 1.8 feet of water coming to us from Sask. So they are going to be building up this dyke again.
http://www.ebrandon.ca/photo.aspx?picture_id=20168
They have since added another row of super sand bags. If these bags break many stores and restaurants will be flooded out.
http://www.ebrandon.ca/photo.aspx?picture_id=20147
The south side of the river was evacuated today and the north side will be evacuated tomorrow. This is a precaution in case of an earth or sandbag dyke break.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
30 Days in a Nut Shell
I am so sorry it has taken me so long to get this blog done. I tell you, it has been a busy month (but that is not a good excuse).
This is what we have been up to this month. I had to work a few extra days at my job to make up for the days I was away in BC. Two of the ladies were working about 10 days straight so they needed a break. Then at the beginning of this month I started up my own Mary Kay Business. So I will be going to people’s house and showing them our skin care products and make-up. I am hoping that this becomes my full time job at some point, but for now I am doing it for a little extra money and to meet and spend time with other ladies in Brandon. This alone has kept me busy with lots of training and phone calls to people trying to get shows set up.
www.marykay.ca/twalker
Also, I have been looking into to getting licensed to have a family daycare out of our house. We have been struggling lately with me and Ryan both working because sometimes he works late into the night and that means that Ryan’s parents have the kids till 7, 8 or sometimes 9 o’clock. This happens sometimes twice a week. And for now we are just so grateful that they are around to do this for us, but come July Pat is closing her daycare for the summer and spending most of her time out at the trailer. So we will be left with no one to watch the boys when I work in the evening. I might be able to find alternative daycare for the afternoon but almost all daycares close by 5 or 6 and it is rare that Ryan is home by then.
I have until June 30th to figure out what we are gong to do, but it looks as though I am going to have to quit my job at the furniture store and either find a day job to put the kids in full time daycare, or work out of my home. I am sad about this because I like my work at the furniture store and I like the people I work with. If I had to choose between a different job and working from home I would really prefer to work out of my home and have my own daycare because the cost of having both kids in daycare will almost cost us as much as I would make at a full time job. Plus Everett and Rawley are not exactly the easiest children to take care of so it may be hard to find daycare for them.
On top of that Everett is still having some pretty rough nights. He appears to be going through a very difficult time with some separation anxiety along with his tummy troubles. Even during the day if I leave the room for anything he just breaks down screaming and crying, which is also what he is doing anytime he wakes up in the night. He usually will fall asleep in my arms as soon as I pick him up from his crib, but wakes when I try to lay him back down. I have done a little bit of reading on this and have found out that it is pretty normal for some babies. They say that it should stop happening by 14 months old, so only 3 months left to go. Mind you Everett has yet to be a baby that follows anything they say in the books.
I took him to the doctor the other day and found out that Everett tummy troubles are most likely coming from a milk, lactose, and fructose and wheat sensitivity. This means that if we want his tummy to be happy he needs to stick to a rice, vegetable, and meat diet. He may be able to handle small amount so other things like wheat and fruits, but it is hard to know how much and if we want to play it safe it is best to stay away from them. This is a huge challenge because almost everything has wheat in it, and an easy snack for him is always fruit or biscuits. I have had to be creative with finding different veggies that I can pre-cook and freeze so that when he needs a snack I can just pull is out of the freezer and thaw it a bit. Oh well, it is all part of being a parent and learning I suppose.
Rawley is doing pretty good. He is so happy that the snow is gone and he can ride his bike and play baseball outside. He has been coming home from school then going out side to play only to come in a eat dinner to return outside again. It is so good for him to be out there burning off all his energy. He seems to have a couple really good friends that he can play with too so I am happy for him.
He was also at the doctor the other day because we are having some trouble with his meds wearing off too early. The school is noticing it the most and are having trouble with him in the afternoons. The doctor thinks that it is because the province of Manitoba will only allow the kids to use a generic form of the drug if they want pharmacare to cover some of the cost, but the generic form seems to not be working on about 30% of the kids. He has prescribed him something different to see if it helps. It is much more expensive but at least after we have spent out needed amount for the year pharmacare will start to pay for it.
So, what else is new? Well the flooding has started. The water is up pretty high. The two major roads that go over the river have large sandbags stacked 2 high to stop the water from crossing the roads. They are doing their job pretty well although we have some seepage in areas. The two lane roads are down to one lane with pumps in the other lane pumping the water back off the road.
We had a really good Easter weekend. I was off work all weekend so we got to relax around the house a lot. We had Pat, Gary, Crystal and Al over on Good Friday for turkey dinner. Ryan did the turkey and I did all the fixings. We boiled about 13 eggs and everyone coloured eggs. It was a lot of fun. Then on Sunday night we had a surprise birthday party for Pat as a restaurant here in town. Some family and friends came out and we had a really good time. We were there for 3 hours and Everett was good the whole time. I am so amazed at how much he has changed, because 2 months ago we would not have been able to take him out with us. Now we are able to keep him happy with food to feed him and toys. It is nice.
The sun has been shinning here a lot lately and we have even had some pretty warm weather, it has been up around the 19/20 degree mark for a few days. This has meant we can go for walks. The stroller is mobile again now that the snow is gone. Everett loves to be outside so it is great. Walking to the post office and back is a good way to kill an hour and Everett just loves it. He sits so nice in the stroller and watches the world around him. There are a lot of robins out and he thinks they are great. He really studies them when they are hoping all over the ground. It amazes me how he notices them even when they are far away. He is very aware of everything going on.
(Since I wrote this rough draft we had a crazy winter storm and got about 4-5 inches of snow in a 24 hour period. The roads were a mess, the highways were closed and there were a few fatal accidents.)
Rawley’s soccer season started on Sunday. They met the coach and did some drills then his first practice is tomorrow night. He is really excited about this. He was so good at soccer last year and he really loved it so I am hoping for the same outcome this year.
Now for some pictures.
Everett was so tired he didn't even make it through the shower. Poor baby.
The water is now more than 1/2 way up the roof.
This is wear Rawley is suppose to be playing soccer. The Optimist Soccer Park.
This a park were we have gone for a few walks.
Everett: 11 months old on April 22.
My crazy boys that cannot sit still.
Everett with Grandma at her surprise birthday party.
Mom and Dad celebrating.
Baby in a bucket.
This is what we have been up to this month. I had to work a few extra days at my job to make up for the days I was away in BC. Two of the ladies were working about 10 days straight so they needed a break. Then at the beginning of this month I started up my own Mary Kay Business. So I will be going to people’s house and showing them our skin care products and make-up. I am hoping that this becomes my full time job at some point, but for now I am doing it for a little extra money and to meet and spend time with other ladies in Brandon. This alone has kept me busy with lots of training and phone calls to people trying to get shows set up.
www.marykay.ca/twalker
Also, I have been looking into to getting licensed to have a family daycare out of our house. We have been struggling lately with me and Ryan both working because sometimes he works late into the night and that means that Ryan’s parents have the kids till 7, 8 or sometimes 9 o’clock. This happens sometimes twice a week. And for now we are just so grateful that they are around to do this for us, but come July Pat is closing her daycare for the summer and spending most of her time out at the trailer. So we will be left with no one to watch the boys when I work in the evening. I might be able to find alternative daycare for the afternoon but almost all daycares close by 5 or 6 and it is rare that Ryan is home by then.
I have until June 30th to figure out what we are gong to do, but it looks as though I am going to have to quit my job at the furniture store and either find a day job to put the kids in full time daycare, or work out of my home. I am sad about this because I like my work at the furniture store and I like the people I work with. If I had to choose between a different job and working from home I would really prefer to work out of my home and have my own daycare because the cost of having both kids in daycare will almost cost us as much as I would make at a full time job. Plus Everett and Rawley are not exactly the easiest children to take care of so it may be hard to find daycare for them.
On top of that Everett is still having some pretty rough nights. He appears to be going through a very difficult time with some separation anxiety along with his tummy troubles. Even during the day if I leave the room for anything he just breaks down screaming and crying, which is also what he is doing anytime he wakes up in the night. He usually will fall asleep in my arms as soon as I pick him up from his crib, but wakes when I try to lay him back down. I have done a little bit of reading on this and have found out that it is pretty normal for some babies. They say that it should stop happening by 14 months old, so only 3 months left to go. Mind you Everett has yet to be a baby that follows anything they say in the books.
I took him to the doctor the other day and found out that Everett tummy troubles are most likely coming from a milk, lactose, and fructose and wheat sensitivity. This means that if we want his tummy to be happy he needs to stick to a rice, vegetable, and meat diet. He may be able to handle small amount so other things like wheat and fruits, but it is hard to know how much and if we want to play it safe it is best to stay away from them. This is a huge challenge because almost everything has wheat in it, and an easy snack for him is always fruit or biscuits. I have had to be creative with finding different veggies that I can pre-cook and freeze so that when he needs a snack I can just pull is out of the freezer and thaw it a bit. Oh well, it is all part of being a parent and learning I suppose.
Rawley is doing pretty good. He is so happy that the snow is gone and he can ride his bike and play baseball outside. He has been coming home from school then going out side to play only to come in a eat dinner to return outside again. It is so good for him to be out there burning off all his energy. He seems to have a couple really good friends that he can play with too so I am happy for him.
He was also at the doctor the other day because we are having some trouble with his meds wearing off too early. The school is noticing it the most and are having trouble with him in the afternoons. The doctor thinks that it is because the province of Manitoba will only allow the kids to use a generic form of the drug if they want pharmacare to cover some of the cost, but the generic form seems to not be working on about 30% of the kids. He has prescribed him something different to see if it helps. It is much more expensive but at least after we have spent out needed amount for the year pharmacare will start to pay for it.
So, what else is new? Well the flooding has started. The water is up pretty high. The two major roads that go over the river have large sandbags stacked 2 high to stop the water from crossing the roads. They are doing their job pretty well although we have some seepage in areas. The two lane roads are down to one lane with pumps in the other lane pumping the water back off the road.
We had a really good Easter weekend. I was off work all weekend so we got to relax around the house a lot. We had Pat, Gary, Crystal and Al over on Good Friday for turkey dinner. Ryan did the turkey and I did all the fixings. We boiled about 13 eggs and everyone coloured eggs. It was a lot of fun. Then on Sunday night we had a surprise birthday party for Pat as a restaurant here in town. Some family and friends came out and we had a really good time. We were there for 3 hours and Everett was good the whole time. I am so amazed at how much he has changed, because 2 months ago we would not have been able to take him out with us. Now we are able to keep him happy with food to feed him and toys. It is nice.
The sun has been shinning here a lot lately and we have even had some pretty warm weather, it has been up around the 19/20 degree mark for a few days. This has meant we can go for walks. The stroller is mobile again now that the snow is gone. Everett loves to be outside so it is great. Walking to the post office and back is a good way to kill an hour and Everett just loves it. He sits so nice in the stroller and watches the world around him. There are a lot of robins out and he thinks they are great. He really studies them when they are hoping all over the ground. It amazes me how he notices them even when they are far away. He is very aware of everything going on.
(Since I wrote this rough draft we had a crazy winter storm and got about 4-5 inches of snow in a 24 hour period. The roads were a mess, the highways were closed and there were a few fatal accidents.)
Rawley’s soccer season started on Sunday. They met the coach and did some drills then his first practice is tomorrow night. He is really excited about this. He was so good at soccer last year and he really loved it so I am hoping for the same outcome this year.
Now for some pictures.
Everett was so tired he didn't even make it through the shower. Poor baby.
The water is now more than 1/2 way up the roof.
This is wear Rawley is suppose to be playing soccer. The Optimist Soccer Park.
This a park were we have gone for a few walks.
Everett: 11 months old on April 22.
My crazy boys that cannot sit still.
Everett with Grandma at her surprise birthday party.
Mom and Dad celebrating.
Baby in a bucket.
